5 July 2015

Connecting with readers on Goodreads

Goodreads is for readers, so is not the place for
authors to engage in self-promotion but there are over 25 Million
registered users, looking at 750 Million books, who have created 29 Million
reviews. So how should you build this
into your author platform? I've been on Goodreads for over four years and
offer some thoughts on some things to consider:

1. Create your Goodreads author page

Your author page is separate from your member profile page, which lists
your bookshelves friends and reviews. It doesn't take long and it’s
free, so search for yourself and click on your published author name, then send
a request to join the Goodreads Author Program. If you
haven’t set up your page, Goodreads offers readers a disappointing silhouette,
so switch that for your favourite photo. You can also add a bio, links to your
blog and Twitter user name. I sometimes see authors who put the wrong links, so
test them to make sure they work properly. (My Goodreads author page is HERE if you’d like to see what they look
like.)

2. Make sure your books are listed

Your books don’t just appear on Goodreads, someone has to list them in
the first place. The best person to do that is you, as soon as your book is
launched. You can make sure the details are all correct, with the best cover
image. If you added the book it is also much easier to update it in the future.
Check before adding a book by searching by author and title – and read the
guidelines. If your books need to be added, you will be given access to the
online form. You can also upload eBooks
in epub or pdf and allow readers access to the whole book or an extract.

3. Start adding and reviewing books you read

The whole point of Goodreads is for readers to share thoughts about
books they read, so please join in. I sometimes forget but am trying to make
time to write a short paragraph and cross post on Amazon as well as Goodreads,
so you have double value from your time and, depending on your review, may be
helping other authors and readers.

4. Join and interact with Goodreads groups that match your genre(s)

There is a discussion group for everyone on Goodreads, including many
led by Goodreads Authors so start exploring –
just go to http://www.goodreads.com/group and
type some keywords into the search box. Some groups offer book useful
book promotion advice and are a great place to
link up to other indie authors and find new ideas. (I recently formed a useful group of 'beta readers' for my new novel on a special interest group.)

5. Link to your writing blog with RSS

I have a lot of visitors to my writing blog via Goodreads, so it is
definitely worth hooking up the RSS feed. (If you don’t know how to do it, here is step-by-step guidance)

6. Post your promotional videos

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a one and half
minute video worth? I’ll be posting later in this series on my experience with
YouTube, but if you have a promotional video it makes sense to add it to your
Goodreads author page.

7. Make time to update your status

This is one of the under-used areas of Goodreads, which means if you
have time to bother your input stands out. All you need to do is go to http://www.goodreads.com/update_status and
you’ll be presented with any books you’ve marked as currently reading, but you
don’t have to limit your updates to that.

8. Send friend requests to like-minded reviewers and authors

Goodreads recommends that you only add
someone as a ‘friend’ after you’ve interacted with them in a group or in a book
discussion thread. I rarely bother sending friend requests to readers unless I
have a really good reason, but it’s a useful way to keep tabs on other authors
who share your interests.

9. Accept friend requests

Unlike Twitter, where you need to be a bit careful about who you follow
back, I’m happy to accept any ‘friend requests’ on Goodreads. If I have the
time I usually check out their blog and add them on Twitter if they have a
Twitter username you can be fairly sure they’ll follow back.

10. Help other authors

One of the Goodreads groups I like is Authors Helping Authors described
as is a place where authors and bloggers can come together and help one another
out. If you have a writing blog this is a great place to find authors
interested in guest posting.

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Do you have more ideas and suggestions on how to get the best from Goodreads? If so, please feel free to add a comment below

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